Abstract:
Jackfruit is an underexploited fruit and commonly referred as poor man’s
fruit. Jackfruit is rich in Vitamin A, B, C and minerals such as calcium and iron
and is also having immense medicinal value. It is a rich source of carbohydrates,
minerals, carboxylic acids and dietary fiber. Based on peroxidase test, catalase
test, colour and texture attributes the steam blanching for 30 s was standardised as
pre-treatment. This fruit is seasonal and the post harvest losses are as high as 30%.
Therefore, there is a need to develop a suitable processing protocol to reduce
losses and also to enhance the shelf life and to extend the availability of this
precious bulb in a ready to eat form though out the year. The deseeded jackfruit
bulb after the pretreatment was dried in a vacuum dryer at a fixed vacuum
chamber pressure of 680 mm of Hg. The drying was done at temperatures of 25,
°
°
30, 35, 40 and 45 C. The vacuum chamber temperature of 40 C was standardized
°
on the basis of quality parameters like pH, TSS ( Brix), vitamin C, colour, texture
and rehydration ratio. The drying time required to reach a safe moisture content of
°
7.46 ± 0.27% (d.b) at 40 C was 10 h. Storage studies were conducted in 5 types of
packaging materials such as polythene cover, LDPE 100, LDPE 300, LDPE 400
gauge and laminated aluminum foil with MAP of 30% O 2 + 50% CO 2 (with
balance of N 2 ) gas mixtures. The quality of the stored product was assessed in
°
terms of moisture content, pH, TSS ( Brix), vitamin C, colour, texture,
rehydration ratio and also by microbial analysis in every 15 days interval. Sensory
analysis was also conducted as traits and was done based on Kendall’s coefficient
of concordance tests. At the end of 30 days LDPE 400 gauge resulted in less loss
of quality parameters.
°
So deseeded jackfruit bulbs, steam blanched at 100 C for 30 s followed by
°
vacuum drying at 40 C at a fixed vacuum chamber pressure of 680 mm of Hg for
10 h. The dried product packed in 400 gauge LDPE films can be stored at room
temperature for 30 days without any quality deterioration.
